back to home

 

Business and Human Rights: a resource website

 

  Electrical appliance & electrical product companies  

See also the following sections of this website:

NEW (recent additions to this section; top item is most recent addition)

ENERGY: OECD-Linked Agency Pushes Efficient Appliances - The International Energy Agency called today on rich countries to use more efficient appliances, a move the agency said could cut the countries' energy use by one-third in seven years and curb greenhouse gas emissions...Home appliances like toasters, computers, refrigerators and televisions are quickly emerging as the biggest energy drains, after automobiles, in OECD countries. The devices consume about 30 percent of the electricity flowing in OECD countries and produce about 12 percent of the bloc's greenhouse gas emissions.  (UN Wire, 22 Apr. 2003)

When Lightning Strikes: Portfolio 21 Applies The Natural Step's Sustainability Theories - Portfolio 21 applies environmental screens based on the principles of the Natural Step, which promotes sustainability. [refers to Electrolux, Whole Foods Market, Wild Oats, Horizon Organic] (William Baue, SocialFunds.com, 3 Apr. 2003)

Websites:

Other materials:

2003:

ENERGY: OECD-Linked Agency Pushes Efficient Appliances - The International Energy Agency called today on rich countries to use more efficient appliances, a move the agency said could cut the countries' energy use by one-third in seven years and curb greenhouse gas emissions...Home appliances like toasters, computers, refrigerators and televisions are quickly emerging as the biggest energy drains, after automobiles, in OECD countries. The devices consume about 30 percent of the electricity flowing in OECD countries and produce about 12 percent of the bloc's greenhouse gas emissions.  (UN Wire, 22 Apr. 2003)

When Lightning Strikes: Portfolio 21 Applies The Natural Step's Sustainability Theories - Portfolio 21 applies environmental screens based on the principles of the Natural Step, which promotes sustainability. [refers to Electrolux, Whole Foods Market, Wild Oats, Horizon Organic] (William Baue, SocialFunds.com, 3 Apr. 2003)

Electronics Cos. Focus on Eco-Friendly Goods -...Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics (LGE) are developing environmentally friendly lead-free solder handsets, targeting production in 2005...U.S. cell phone maker Motorola has already developed a new type of handset composed of lead-free solder, recycled plastic and which comes with an energy-efficient charger...leading Japanese electronics, including Hitachi and Toshiba, have already stopped using CFC in their freezers, not only for domestic market, but also for that overseas markets. (Seo Jee-yeon, Korea Times, 27 Feb. 2003)

TVs, PC monitors should be recycled, says L.A. official - A proposal that would require electronics retailers to set up recycling for discarded televisions and computer monitors, the first proposed law of its kind in the United States, has been introduced by a Los Angeles city official. (Reuters, 19 Feb. 2003)

2002:

TOXIC SUBSTANCES: Countries Discuss More Public Access To Information - European, Central Asian and North American negotiators began weeklong talks in Geneva Monday to finalize an international pact on the public's right to information about chemical waste and toxic pollutants in the environment, Reuters reports. (UN Wire, 27 Nov. 2002)

Firms to pay for EU electronic waste clean-up - A new law to make companies meet the cost of recycling their own electronic goods from refrigerators to hairdryers has won approval from EU parliamentarians and governments, officials said. (Reuters, 14 Oct. 2002) 

Rent-A-Center to Pay $47M to Women [USA] - A judge approved a $47 million settlement Friday for thousands of women who claim they were unfairly denied or driven out of jobs with the nation's largest operator of rent-to-own stores. (Associated Press, 5 Oct. 2002)

Experts mull global pact to cut mercury use - Scientists from around the globe began a week-long conference yesterday aimed at shaping a programme to cut back the use of mercury - a toxic substance which poisons and cripples hundreds of people annually...Widely used for decades in lamps, batteries and electrical equipment because it is an excellent conductor of heat, as well as in thermometers and dental fillings, it can cause permanent damage to the brain, nervous system and kidneys. UNEP says it has also been used in some pesticides and pharmaceuticals, as well as in some skin-lightening creams. (Reuters, 10 Sep. 2002)

13 Companies Earn Perfect Score on First HRC Corporate Equality Index [USA]: Demonstrate Leadership with Regard to Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender Employees - A total of 13 major U.S. corporations earned 100 percent on the Human Rights Campaign Foundation's first Corporate Equality Index, released today. The index rates large corporations on policies that affect their gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender employees, consumers and investors...The 13 companies that scored 100 percent are: Aetna Inc.; AMR Corp./American Airlines; Apple Computer Inc.; Avaya Inc.; Eastman Kodak Co.; Intel Corp.; J.P. Morgan Chase & Co.; Lucent Technologies Inc.; NCR Corp.; Nike Inc.; Replacements Ltd.; Worldspan L.P.; and Xerox Corp...At the other end of the scale, three companies scored zero: CBRL Group Inc./Cracker Barrel; Emerson Electric Co.; and Lockheed Martin Corp. (Human Rights Campaign, 13 Aug. 2002)

EU demands proof states are protecting ozone layer -...The European Commission said none of the 15 member states had shown how they intended to ensure ozone-depleting chemicals in scrapped fridges or old fire extinguishers would be safely removed to stop them worsening the hole in the ozone layer. (Reuters, 24 July 2002) 

UK fridge pile nears one million, to shrink this year - Britain's environmental authority says the country's fridge mountain should begin to shrink towards the end of this year and disappear in 2003 (Amanda Cooper, Reuters, 8 July 2002)

Shareowner Support for Resolutions Increases Significantly This Proxy Season [USA] - Support for proposals concerning corporate governance as well as social and environmental issues in the 2002 proxy season is reaching record levels. [includes reference to resolutions at American Standard, Eastman Kodak, Niagara Mohawk Power, Unocal] (William Baue, SocialFunds.com, 27 June 2002)

"Get to Consumers" to Help Save the Environment, Says New Report [by Worldwatch Institute] -...With the help of product labeling--for example, of genetically engineered foods or wood products harvested in a sustainable way--and the use of quality and efficiency standards, consumers now have the choice of more environmentally friendly products. The study describes six "eco-labeling" programs--covering such diverse areas as seafood, domestic appliances, tourism, and coffee--that award a seal of approval to producers who observe standards designed to ensure environmental protection. (Alison Raphael, OneWorld US, 24 June 2002)

Three Companies Achieve Breakthrough in CRT Recycling - As concern and interest in recycling electronic products rise, Panasonic, Techneglas, and Envirocycle are collaborating to provide a model for the recycling of cathode ray tubes (CRTs) in televisions and computer monitors, and to demonstrate the cost-effectiveness of using recycled glass in producing new CRTs. (GreenBiz, 18 June 2002)

Domini Social Investments Reports Record Shareholder Votes for 2002 Proxy Season - Socially Responsible Firm Says Post-Enron "Crisis of Confidence" Fueled Shareholder Discontent with Corporate Social and Environmental Performance [includes reference to Household International, Cooper Industries, Gap, Walt Disney Co., McDonald's, Nordstrom, Sears Roebuck, Coca-Cola, Pepsi] (Domini Social Investments, 12 June 2002)

Taiwan workers mull US lawsuit over toxins - Taiwanese workers who used to make televisions and semiconductors for a US-owned factory have told officials here that employees at the plant suffered illnesses because they were unknowingly exposed to toxic chemicals. More than 200 employees of a former Radio Corp of America (RCA) facility in Taiwan's northern county of Taoyuan died, and about 1,500 still suffer from cancer, said the workers...Richard Knoph, a spokesman for RCA's current owner, Thomson Multimedia of France, denied any correlation between the workers' illnesses and the facility (Danielle Knight, Inter Press Service, in Asia Times, 11 June 2002)

Electronics and Appliances Sector Rated Highly for Environmental Performance: German research firm also finds, however, that there is much room for improvement in the sector's social performance -...This most recent report evaluates the world's top 16 manufacturers of office electronic equipment and domestic appliances...The Oekom study revealed the sector's dismal record for employing women in management positions, especially at Japanese firms. Sharp and Toshiba...have a mere 0.5 percent of their top executive positions filled by women. Oekom compares this to Xerox, the U.S.-based rival that employs 31 percent women in the upper echelon of its management. (William Baue, SocialFunds.com, 4 June 2002)

16 Muslims Sue Whirlpool Plant [USA] - Sixteen Muslims have filed a religious discrimination lawsuit claiming managers at a Whirlpool plant yanked scarves off women's heads and followed workers into restrooms to make sure they weren't praying. (AP, 4 May 2002) 

Women Not Welcome in Corporate India -...VN Dhoot, chairman, Videocon, which has no women employees in its corporate office, laughingly says: "We are from an orthodox family."...Experts say only three per cent women occupy senior positions in private sector companies across the country. Most have an average of five to six per cent women employees...Several companies are employing women friendly policies. Chhachhi cites the example of ICICI and Pepsi. (Roli Srivastava, Times of India, 18 Apr. 2002)

Domini Social Investments announces 2002 shareholder proposals: Socially Responsible Firm Focuses on Sweatshops and the Environment, Continues Push for Greater Corporate Transparency [refers to resolutions filed and/or dialogue with: Gap; Sears, Roebuck; Disney; McDonald's; Nordstrom; Merrill Lynch; Procter & Gamble; Coca-Cola; Pepsi; Emerson; Cooper Industries; Household International; Johnson & Johnson] (Domini Social Investments, 18 Apr. 2002)

Seeking Nondiscrimination in the Workplace: Shareholders of Emerson voted Tuesday February 5th on whether the electrical equipment manufacturer should amend its employment opportunity policy to bar discrimination based on sexual orientation. (Pride Foundation, 7 Feb. 2002)

2001:

Workers Sue Philips Lighting [USA]: Hundreds of former light bulb factory workers who say they were exposed to mercury, arsenic and other toxic chemicals sued Philips Lighting Co. and several other companies Tuesday...The previous owners - Westinghouse Electric Corp., which opened the factory in 1941, and its successor, Viacom Inc. - are named as co-defendants, along with West Virginia chemical suppliers Chem Quick, Par Chem, Blue Ribbon Paint Co. and Charleston Valve and Fitting Co. (Vicki Smith, Associated Press, 18 Dec. 2001)

A badge of approval: A new type of relationship is emerging between companies and NGOs, one where NGOs act as certification bodies, verifying, and in many cases permitting use of their logos for this purpose, that products and services are being produced in socially responsible and environmentally friendly ways. (Sarah Murray, in Responsible business in the global economy: A Financial Times Guide, 23 Oct. 2001)

Businesses support Kyoto climate treaty: WWF, the conservation organization, welcomes today's call on governments by more than 90 companies grouped together in the "e-mission 55 - Business for Climate " initiative to finalise the Kyoto Protocol. (World Wildlife Fund, 5 July 2001)

Landmark Study Shows Mexican Maquiladora Workers Not Able to Meet Basic Needs on Sweatshop Wages: Workers in foreign-owned export assembly plants in Mexico are not able to meet a family's basic needs on sweatshop wages, according to a comprehensive study conducted in fifteen Mexican cities. (Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility / Coalition for Justice in the Maquiladoras / Center for Reflection, Education and Action, 28 June 2001)

ENVIRONMENT: Green Label scheme fails to take hold: Public awareness needed for success [Thailand] (Kultida Samabuddhi, Bangkok Post, 7 June 2001)